


Of Ecthelion and Glorfindel, The Fall of Gondolin, and the Days After

by AlexBarton



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Fall of Gondolin, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-01-12 01:44:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18436460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexBarton/pseuds/AlexBarton
Summary: All elves can see their Doom, though any other far-seeing is limited to only the wisest. They each dream of their deaths, but don't tell the other.Basically, I got The Fall of Gondolin and re-read the Silmarillion and I enjoy making myself suffer over characters who get mentioned like five times in the entire thing.Set Pre-Fall, during the Fall, and then in Imladris





	1. Author's Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These are just my notes so I can keep things straight in my own head, but they might be of some use so you can see where I'm coming from.

**Timeline of Events**

FA 455: Dagor Bragollach

_FA 463: Ecthelion of the Fountain_

FA 472: Nirnaeth Arnoediad

_FA 489: Glorfindel of the Golden Flower_

FA 496: Tuor comes to Gondolin bearing the news that the city will fall soon

FA 510 Midsummer: Fall of Gondolin, Morgoth attacks during Tarnin Austa (Gates of Summer)

SA 1200: Glorfindel comes back to Middle Earth

TA 2941, SR 1341 Midsummer: The Company comes to Imladris

* * *

**Glorfindel**

  * Father is a Noldor lord, his mother is Elenwë’s sister
  * When Elenwë dies in the crossing, Glorfindel follows Turgon to protect his cousin Idril
  * Glorfindel’s name in Quenya is Laurëfindil
  * Sting is the (then unnamed) dagger that he uses to kill the balrog



**Ecthelion**

  * The son of a lord in Fingolfin’s court
  * Ecthelion’s father dies in the first assault on Angband
  * Follows Glorfindel (and Turgon) to Vinyamar
  * Ecthelion’s name in Quenya is Ethelë (fountain)
  * Orcrist is his sword



They meet during the crossing of the Helcaraxë

They use Quenya names for each other in private

  * Laurë means “golden” in Quenya and is a shortening of Glorfindel’s name



  **Notes on Glorfindel’s parentage** :

  * It is noted that he crosses the Helcaraxë with Turgon because of kinship
  * He does not participate in the kinslaying at Alqualondë
  * Based on the mention of kinship, it is likely that he is related to Elenwë due to his blond hair. This is common for Vanya, but not for Noldo, so I figure that his father is Noldo and his mother is Vanya. Additionally, being blood-related only to Elenwë basically ensures that he follows Turgon and not Fingolfin.



  **Notes on when Glorfindel returns to Middle Earth** :

  * There’s debate between the Second Age and the Third Age, and also SA 1200 and 1600, but I personally go with SA 1200 because that’s when Gil-galad turns away Annatar (Sauron) and I think Glorfindel could have had a hand in that
  * Someone has already done a wonderful analysis of why Glorfindel came back in the Second Age so I’m just gonna put that here instead of trying to rephrase it:



 “After the fall of Númenor, Valinor was removed physically from the world, and so a great deal of power had to be used to bring anybody from Valinor to Middle Earth after this point. It makes sense for the Istari to get that treatment, being Maiar sent on a mission by Manwë himself. But, Tolkien decided that it didn’t make sense to make Glorfindel as important as the Istari. So, Glorfindel must have returned to Middle Earth before Númenor fell. In this case, Tolkien said that Glorfindel would have been sent by the Valar to support and strengthen Gil-galad and Elrond’s resistance to Sauron’s power. He may have arrived as early as 1200 SA (when Sauron tried to enter Lindon, but was rejected by Gil-galad) or, more likely, as late as 1600 SA (just after the One Ring was made and Eregion attacked.) This timing would have made it possible for Gil-galad to sail with the elves of Tol Eressëa to Númenor, and then with the Númenoreans from their island to one of their havens along the coast of Middle Earth. After arriving, Tolkien said that Glorfindel “played a notable and heroic part in the war” between Sauron and the elves, though there’s no mention of him later at the Battle of the Last Alliance.”

Source: [askmiddlearth](http://askmiddlearth.tumblr.com/post/54998262138/the-second-life-of-glorfindel-losgloriol)

**Notes on Bonding** :

I am well aware the Tolkien never made any mention of homosexuality in his books and that he was Christian. Regardless, I think that the way he describes a soul-bond could be applied to same-sex couples. I also think that weird sex/marriage thing is exactly that - weird. So for the purposes of this fic, same-sex couples are not taboo and there is an actual Bonding (ie. marriage) ceremony that basically just involves making vows to each other in public.

Because we all know how the Noldor love their vows/oaths (looking at you Fëanor).


	2. Ecthelion of the Fountain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ecthelion dreams of his Doom.

**Gondolin FA 463**

_He was drowning. He realised he couldn’t reach the surface and he struggled all the harder, and yet it was in vain. He could see the smoky sky above the Square of the Kings Fountain, and yet this incredible weight on his chest prevented him from simply sitting up. The sounds that reached him through the water were distorted, garbled, and slowly – ever so slowly – they began to fade. He closed his eyes._

He opened his eyes. Panicking. Not breathing.

He felt cool hands press to his brow, a counterpoint to the fevered heat spreading across his skin as he tried to make his lungs remember how to take in breath.

Someone gathered him in their arms and whispered comforts, and yet for all their sweetness they sounded as if they spoke through water.

When the tension in his chest released, the clarity of breathing brought him to his senses. He was fine. He was in bed with Glorfindel. Dear Glorfindel, who was holding him and stroking his hair and humming his favourite tune.

“Do you wish to speak of it Ethelë?” asked his mate.

He shook his head, his heart still racing. Glorfindel kissed his brow, and they both fell back into a restful meditation.

When he thought of it later, he was filled with dread. He had been in Gondolin, he knew this with a certainty. He knew that he had dreamt of his Doom.

He would not burden Laurë with this knowledge, he decided. How it may yet come to pass was unknown to him. He would not attempt to unravel Vairë’s threads, for it may be that his actions in preventing his Doom would cause it. No. He would put it from his mind and continue on.


	3. Glorfindel of the Golden Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glorfindel dreams of his Doom.

**Gondolin FA 489**

_He was falling. Everything was burning and he was in pain and he was alone and he was falling, and somehow he was at peace with falling._

Glorfindel’s eyes shot open just before he hit the ground. To his left, Ecthelion was still sleeping soundly. Glorfindel rose quietly from their bed and walked out to the balcony, the cool air soothing the still-remembered feeling of burning.

The night was calm this close to sunrise, so Glorfindel contented himself with watching the navy blue sky become suffused with streaks of pink and orange.

Arms slipped around his waist, a face buried in the back of his shoulder. “Are you alright Laurë? You do not usually wake this early.”

Glorfindel settled his arms over Ecthelion’s. “Just a bad dream Ethelë. Go back to sleep meleth nin.”

“Did you dream of the Nirnaeth again?”

“No Ethelë. And whatever it was has been forgotten already. Go, sleep. I will join you in a moment.”

Glorfindel felt the light squeeze of a hug before Ecthelion moved back into their room. He felt a slight pang of guilt at keeping his dream secret, but it was quickly overtaken by dread. He knew without a doubt that he had dreamt of his Doom.

As Glorfindel gazed at the now-sleeping form of his mate, he resolved to keep his dream to himself. It would not do to worry Ethelë with a vision of the future, which could be near or far.

With a sigh, he crawled back into bed and curled into Ecthelion’s warmth.


	4. The Fall of Gondolin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my attempt at writing like Tolkien would. Some of the phrases are taken from The Book of Lost Tales, Volume II.

**Gondolin FA 510, Tarnin Austa, the Gates of Summer**

Supported by Tuor, Ecthelion drank some of the water in the Fountain of the King’s Square. He felt hands leave him, and new hands took their place.

“Ethelë are you hurt?” came Glorfindel’s voice, floating somewhere near his ear.

Ecthelion turned to see his mate helping him stand. “Aye. Tis just my left arm. The whip of a balrog most foul rent my shield from my arm, and I am weary.”

Tuor’s shouts rouse Glorfindel from looking over Ecthelion’s wounds. “Stay here by the Fountain Ethelë, I must go help bar the entrances to the Square.”

With that he hurried away to help with the defense of the South gate to allow Egalmoth and the remaining members of the Houses of the Arch and of the Swallow and the kin of those warriors of the Hammer of Wrath who had all fallen.

The barriers they had erected upon the North gate fell to a drake and Gothmog, lord of the balrogs. Ecthelion could see that Tuor and Egalmoth had been split apart in the fight, and that Glorfindel was still valiantly holding the Southern gate.

With the strength he had left, Ecthelion placed his helm upon his head and took up his sword to do battle with the lord of balrogs. The first charge left him with a wound to his sword-arm, and so he was forced to drop his weapon. Yet he would not, could not, let the foul creature go on. He bared his teeth and ran towards his foe, driving the spike of his helm into Gothmog’s chest, and wrapping his legs around the beast’s thighs, so that he could not be moved.

And Gothmog, lord of balrogs, yelled and fell forward into the basin of the Fountain, dragging Ecthelion with him. Try though he might, he could not get free of the heavy armour he wore. 

He was drowning. He realised he couldn’t reach the surface and he struggled all the harder, and yet it was in vain. He could see the smoky sky above the Square of the Kings Fountain, and yet this incredible weight on his chest prevented him from simply sitting up. The sounds that reached him through the water were distorted, garbled, and slowly – ever so slowly – they began to fade. He closed his eyes.

\---

Glorfindel turned from the Southern gate just in time to see his beloved charge Gothmog. To see his beloved drown beneath a fountain, and to see the square be overrun. Galdor and Egalmoth dragged him back as he struggled to cross the square, screaming for Ecthelion.

The city was overrun.

The city had fallen.

He had turned back once, just once to see the city aflame, and then he turned back no more. There was nothing left but to help as many escape across the plain surrounding the city and through the Cirith Thoronath as possible. 

Yet even in this place had Morgoth set watchers so that no refugee escaped his onslaught. The orcs were fought off easily enough with the help of Thorondor and the eagles, but the Balrog set terror aflame in the hearts of all who saw it.

Glorfindel turned to do battle. His heart was full of peace, for if he fell then the suffering in his  _ fëa  _ would be no more. 

His fury and suffering bolstered his blows, so much so that he sliced the whip arm of the balrog clean off. The balrog, in its pain, leapt at Glorfindel, whose sword embedded in its shoulder, and the two grappled high above on the cliff face. In the end, Glorfindel’s dirk pierced the foul creature and rent it from the navel to the throat, and it fell into the chasm between the mountains. 

But it was an evil hour. With its last breath, the balrog reached up and grabbed the loose hair that had fallen from beneath Glorfindel’s helm, and thus he was pulled backwards off the edge of the cliff.

He was falling. Everything was burning and he was in pain and he was alone and he was falling, and somehow he was at peace with falling. 

His eyes closed.

_ Wait for me in Mandos, beloved _ . 


	5. The Company Comes to Imladris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though he's not mentioned, we can assume that Glorfindel was in Imladris when the Company arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew what I wanted in my head, and this is the closest I could get it. Hopefully you like it!

**TA 2941, SR 1341 Midsummer**

_That day [Elrond] looked at the swords they had brought from the trolls’ lair, and he said: “These are not troll-make. They are old swords, very old swords of the High Elves of the West, my kin. They were made in Gondolin for the Goblin-wars. They must have come from a dragon’s hoard or goblin plunder, for dragons and goblins destroyed that city many ages ago. This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin; it was a famous blade. This, Gandalf, was Glamdring, Foehammer that the king of Gondolin once wore._ 1 _”_

Elrond watched as the dwarves and hobbit go to the festivities that marked midsummer’s eve. He was tempted to find Glorfindel immediately to tell him of what their guests had found, but he remembered how his friend wished for solitude on the anniversary of Tarnin Austa and the fall of Gondolin.

 _“Perhaps I will join him in the quiet this year,”_ Elrond mused.

He made his way to an almost hidden garden on the opposite side of Imladris from the current revelry. His quiet footsteps didn’t alert the golden-haired elf, and so Elrond took the moment to study his friend.

Glorfindel sat cross-legged on the ledge of a small fountain, his eyes closed, his face tilted up to the stars. He almost looked serene, but for the tears that coursed down his cheeks.

Elrond crossed the glade to sit next to Glorfindel. As was the ancient custom in Gondolin, neither spoke until the sun began to peek over the mountains.

Glorfindel softly sang a hymn to the Valar thanking them for the gift of the sun. It was in Quenya, and though Elrond could follow the lyrics, he had never learned the song properly to be able to join in. He opened his mouth to tell Glorfindel of the strange treasure the dwarves were carrying, but decided against it, wanting his friend to have his moment of peace.

The next day the Company departed, and with them went the swords.

\---

“I want you to go to a troll den here,” Elrond pointed to a spot marked on the map, “And recover some of the hoard. I have reason to believe that there may be Noldorin treasures there.”

Glorfindel raised an eyebrow. “How would you know that?”

Elrond was not prone to feeling uncomfortable, but he found himself second-guessing his decision not to tell Glorfindel of Orcrist before Thorin had left.

“Elrond?”

“The dwarves that stayed the past few days. They had some weapons from the hoard, among them Orcrist and Glamdring.”

Glorfindel’s face shuttered, but not before Elrond caught a glimpse of anguish and longing in his friend’s eyes.

“Was I wrong to let them go with the swords?” he asked.

Glorfindel squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then composed himself and replied. “No. Ecthelion and Turgon have no use for them anymore. May they protect their bearers well.”

Elrond moved to clasp his friend’s shoulder. “Take Lalwen2 with you. Leave tomorrow morning.”

Glorfindel bowed his head for a moment, then straightened and nodded to Elrond before striding out of the room.

\---

A few days later, Glorfindel and Elrond were cataloguing the items that had been brought back. Elrond noticed his friend looking methodically through the weapons with a hopeful look.

“What do you search for _melon nin_?”

“I had hoped to find my dirk, the one I fought the balrog with in the Cirith Thoronath. It was enchanted to warn of goblins approaching3, and if weapons from Gondolin were in the hoard...” he trailed off, then shook his head. “But I do not see it. I hope it found its way to someone who fought the Evil and protected them well.”

Elrond made a sympathetic noise, and the two elves continued sorting the items from the trolls’ hoard.

A silver circlet set with sapphires and diamonds in the shape of fountain spray caught Elrond’s eye. He held it up.

“Glorfindel, is this...” he questioned.

The golden-haired elf’s eyes lit with recognition. “Yes. Ecthelion’s.”

“Keep it.” Elrond passed the circlet to him. “You will see him again, and you can return it to him.”

Glorfindel took it gently, almost reverently. “I will see him again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Taken directly from The Hobbit.
> 
> (2) Yes Lalwen, Fingon and Turgon's aunt. Tolkien doesn't mention what happens to her, so she's living happily in Imladris looking out for her grand-nephew.
> 
> (3) The dirk is Sting, although it would not have been named such when it was in Glorfindel's position, if it had a name at all.


End file.
